Change. Lots and lots of it.
When 2011 began we had small hopes that God might see fit to allow us a new home. The one He gave us in 2005 was a great house, but it was never a great home. There was too much heartbreak that occurred within those walls to ever allow it to be any more than a nice house to us. We had tried several times to sell in the years we lived there but never had one offer. Then, in July we put a sign in the yard and 6 days later we had a contract. One month later we were making plans to start construction on the house we had wanted to build all those years on land we had been paying on for as long. Finally, God swung the door wide open and we were given our new beginning.
The same week we moved out of our house, Handiman began a new job. It was a totally unexpected blessing and a great career opportunity for him. And if it were all he had to do, it would have been a piece of cake. But it turns out starting a new job and becoming the general contractor on the construction of your new home at the same time can be a tiny bit stressful. And compounding all of it is the fact that your wife, daughter, dog and a sizable amount of your earthly belongings are going to be crammed in a tiny rental apartment for the next 5 months waiting for it to be finished. Well, he hasn't been the happiest camper on the block lately.
While Handiman and I were busy selling houses, picking paint colors and lamenting over tile, the Little Ocho was busy growing up. And that's not just some sappy sentiment from an overdramatic Mom. She really did just suddenly grow up. Physically and emotionally, almost overnight, she was different. I could see it coming on like a freight train over the summer and decided it was time for the two of us to get away together and "talk". I did document that experience here and it will go down as not just one of the top moments of this past year but of any year I've lived. She's done a lot of growing and maturing over the past 12 months but in many ways she's still a little girl. And I'm giving full encouragement to that. Feeling it slip away a little at a time is painful but I appreciate God's mercy in it.
Early in the year I decided to try my hand at a radio contest while we were on our way to school one morning. I was the 95th caller and won 95 dollars! A month later I tried another radio contest and won 2 tickets to the Taylor Swift concert. Handiman insisted I go out that instant and purchase a Powerball ticket. I didn't. But I did walk around for many months deeming it My Year. It seemed for the first time in a long time, everything was going my way. Then came the the 2 weeks in December that our painters didn't show up. Oh well. It was nice while it lasted.
While not every moment was a good one, as we reviewed the worst moments of the year we realized the worst for us couldn't compare with the valleys that some around us were forced to walk through. I'm thankful that God saw fit to bless our family so richly in 2011 but we know that there is no promise that 2012 will hold the same happiness. So today we choose to be thankful for all He's done for us and pray that whatever the new year holds, we will be faithful to thank Him for that too.
Have a blessed and happy new year.
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